In the operation of a medical laboratory, one of the routine operations is the performing of tests on samples of blood or urine. In order to facilitate such operations, it is common practice to use a carrousel or multi-station type machine that subjects a sample vial or curvette to a succession of tests as it is moved from station to station. The primative versions of such machines made use of individual sample vials dropped into sockets on a large horizontal rotatable disk, but the more modern versions of this type of chemical analysis machine have used a so-called "multi-cuvette" in which the sample vials are formed at an integral part of a larger rotatable body. Although in some respects such an integral apparatus is convenient, there are a number of drawbacks. Because some of the analytic tests involve optics, the sample vial must be made of an optically-clear plastic; this means that, in the multi-cuvette described above, the entire apparatus must be made of an optically-clear plastic. This means that the apparatus must necessarily be quite costly, because of the expensive nature of any plastic which is both strong and also optically clear. Also, the problem arises that, when the user has run samples through the machine on only a few of the vials, he may easily forget which is the next vial in line that has not been used (and, therefore, is still clean). Furthermore, since the samples cannot be allowed to stand in the vials for any great length of time, it may be necessary to remove the entire multi-cuvette in order to empty the old samples. This may take place at a time when only a few vials have been used, thus resulting in a waste of the unused portion of the multi-cuvette. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a cuvette which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, because portions of the apparatus can be molded from inexpensive plastic.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a cuvette of the multi-cell type in which the main body is made of an opaque, strong plastic and the individual sample vials are made from an optically clear plastic.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a multi-cuvette in which individual sample vials can be readily removed and replaced.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a multi-cuvette in which individual sample vials can be emptied of specimen without disturbing the remainder of the vials.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a cuvette of the multi-cell type in which each cell is positively identified.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a cuvette of the type having a plurality of sample vials accurately located in a main body and locked against accidental removal.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.